Review: Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman (Lady Montfort Mystery #1) by Tessa Arlen

A Downton Abbey-esque murder mystery? Yes please!

Lady Montfort is eagerly anticipating and planning her annual costume ball. Every year she tries to out do herself and plan an over the top event.

Well what would be more memorable than discovering a body?

Teddy is not the most endearing victim. Teddy was the nephew of Lord Montford who was constantly involved in scandal. Most recently he was involved in a gambling ring at Oxford that caused him the be expelled.

Having him home for the costume ball is not exactly the most desirable scenarios but he is after all family. Well while taking a stroll around her property before the ball, Lady Montford overhears a heated argument between Teddy and her own son.

Her son tells Teddy that he will break his neck, Lady Montford realizes she is afraid of her son’s rage in that moment but doesn’t interrupt to argument.

Well when Teddy’s body is discovered later, he has a broken neck–he was hanged.

Continue reading “Review: Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman (Lady Montfort Mystery #1) by Tessa Arlen”

Review: Sweet Damage by Rebecca James

This is a modern Gothic thriller to put on your radar!

Tim Ellison has been in a rut lately. He has spent his time sleeping on his ex-girlfriend’s couch, working in a restaurant, and surfing.

Life isn’t quite what he expected. But he does know one thing….it’s time to move out of his ex’s house.

Tim finds a cheap room rental at Fairview, when he shows up he is expecting to see a heap but instead he finds a mansion.

Built in 1890, Fairview is a beautiful mansion boasting some of the best views in Sydney. It’s owned by Anna London who inherited the house after her parents’ deaths.

In exchange for the cheap rent, Tim has one job: to look after Anna. Though she is in her twenties, she acts more like an elderly woman. She also never leaves her house as she suffers from a severe anxiety disorder. But it seems like a fair gig to Tim so he takes the post.

Continue reading “Review: Sweet Damage by Rebecca James”

Giveaway: WEST OF SUNSET by Stewart O’Nan

Calling all American Lit fans! This week’s bitchin’ giveaway if for Stewart O’Nan’s latest novel about F. Scott Fitzgerald!

In 1937, F. Scott Fitzgerald was a troubled, uncertain man whose literary success was long over. In poor health, with his wife consigned to a mental asylum and his finances in ruins, he struggled to make a new start as a screenwriter in Hollywood. By December 1940, he would be dead of a heart attack.

Those last three years of Fitzgerald’s life, often obscured by the legend of his earlier Jazz Age glamour, are the focus of Stewart O’Nan’s gorgeously and gracefully written novel. With flashbacks to key moments from Fitzgerald’s past, the story follows him as he arrives on the MGM lot, falls in love with brassy gossip columnist Sheilah Graham, begins work on The Last Tycoon, and tries to maintain a semblance of family life with the absent Zelda and daughter, Scottie.

Thanks to the Publisher, I am ecstatic to be able to offer a copy of WEST OF SUNSET for your enjoyment! Giveaway is for one copy.

Giveaway runs 1/14/15 to 1/22/15

Winners will be announced 1/23/15.

(how to enter)

On this blog you must leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway.  Your comment MUST include your email so I can contact you….if you do not enter an email in the comments your entry will be void. Winners will be notified by email the day after the giveaway closes and have five days to respond, it not another winner will be chosen. 

(GIVEAWAY OPEN TO US/CANADA ONLY AND NO PO BOX)

Make sure you note if you have done the following for more chances to win: Tweet about the giveaway (+1), share on Facebook (+1), like The Lit Bitch on Facebook (+1), follow The Lit Bitch on Twitter (+1), subscribe to The Lit Bitch’s blog (+1). Tweet/RT about the giveaway (+1). Share about the giveaway (+1).

Special Feature: WEST OF SUNSET by Stewart O’Nan

This week I am thrilled to let my reads know of an exciting new release, WEST OF SUNSET by Stewart O’Nan.

There is an awesome BOOK CLUB KIT that goes a long with this read, featuring a Q & A with O’Nan, discussion questions, and maps of locations in the book.

I am also stoked to offer a giveaway for this book, which I will post a separate entry for that so please be on the look out!

WEST OF SUNSET, which re-imagines the last three years of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life. It goes on sale January 13th was named a top ten novel to read this winter by The Huffington Post and a best book of January by the editors at Amazon .

As a young man, F. Scott Fitzgerald believed that there were no second acts in American lives. By the age of forty, he was trying with all his might to prove that he was wrong.

Continue reading “Special Feature: WEST OF SUNSET by Stewart O’Nan”

Review: The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag

That would look beautiful on you. Why don’t you try it on?

How often do you hear that when you are shopping for the perfect dress?

Is it just fluff that the sales clerk is trying to make us believe or would it truly look beautiful on us? What if that statement was more like a promise?

Etta Sparks owns a dress shop where dreams actually do come true. A place where one dress could change your life.

Etta has the ability to make your dreams come true with the perfect dress and a little stitching to give you some courage.

Her granddaughter Cora has been grieving her parents death for years and Etta would like nothing better than for Cora to see what life has to offer her. For years Cora is determined to solve the mystery behind her parents’ deaths in a fire.

Continue reading “Review: The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag”